A Modern Scourge

            I have just returned from Florida where I celebrated Thanksgiving with my son Marc and his family. There were eighteen of us enjoying the turkey with all the fixings. But the real focus of the celebration was family. My son is so blessed in that regard. All three of his children and their three children are within a short drive, as well as in-laws and their families. There was indeed much to be thankful for that day. But much to be concerned about as well.

            Upon returning to North Carolina I read in two daily papers about the continuing decline in life expectancy in the United States. The articles presented in gruesome detail the two main reasons for the decline: suicide and drug overdoses. One statistic is absolutely stunning: 70,237 deaths from overdoses last year, a number that has quadrupled since 1999. Over that period, deaths attributed to opioids had grown six-fold. The greatest factor by far in the increase of those deaths was fentanyl, which accounted for 28,466 deaths all by itself.

            Fentanyl has become our modern plague.  And it is easily available, because China floods our markets with it. The Chinese government knows where the illicit drug is being manufactured but refuses to do anything about it. Considering how many of our young people die from this poison, we could reasonably view China’s complicity as an act of war.

            How can we stop this scourge? I can think of at least three ways. One is to engage all means of communications, especially social media, to increase awareness among young people of the deadly nature of fentanyl. Another is to make stopping the importation of fentanyl a priority in our trade negotiations with China. The third is education, beginning in our families and reinforced in the classroom. Easier said than done, considering the growing incidence of broken families, especially those where the parents themselves are struggling with addiction. But this is a war, and it must be fought on all fronts. We must not tolerate the increasing death toll on this battlefield.